Mobile game app development does not end with game app design and development. It is just the beginning. For example, you have a million-dollar mobile game app idea. Your game development team holds exceptional knowledge in game design and development. You partner with the best NFT development company to make your mobile gaming idea relevant in the market. But, do you know how to make a mobile game app profitable?
Here, comes the efficacy of applying the best mobile game app monetization strategies. So, game conceptualization, design, and development are not the end of your journey. It is only the beginning. The hardest part remains with monetizing the mobile game app. Games studios and individual developers follow multiple game monetization tactics to cut out the largest portion of the profit from the gamer market worldwide. However, with global inflation raging, if you follow the conventional app monetization avenues without any twist, it would never work. The good thing is that, despite the inflation boom, the mobile game market is constantly rising.
The mobile game market worldwide will rise to $420.39 billion by 2026.
So developing a game is one thing, and making money out of it is another. Last year, the monetization strategies you followed may not seem valid in 2023. There is no need to panic. Here, we will show you the top three trending mobile game app monetization tactics you must follow in 2023. So, stop chewing your nails and jump on the wagon.
What is Mobile Game App Monetization?
- In simple terms, mobile game app monetization is the process of making money out of a mobile game.
- It includes multiple strategies and tactics that game developers use to generate revenue from their games.
- Like developing quality mobile games, game app monetization also requires expertise and experience.
- So, game monetization requires effort and time as well.
- In addition, game studios and developers need to cover the game development cost with monetization profits.
- So, game monetization aims to maximize the revenue but not the zero balance.
Some games become wildly popular and profitable as soon as they get launched. Some take years to blossom, while some fall on the ground immediately. It entirely depends on the mobile game quality and monetization strategies. Luckily, we are here to help you with mobile game app monetization strategies.
The Top 3 Mobile Game App Monetization Trends
Check out the following three mobile game app monetization strategies to ooze the maximum profit from your mobile video games:
The Subscription Model is not Going away Easily
For the last few years, game app subscription has been among the top of the game monetization models. The subscription economy was on the rise even before the pandemic, but the pandemic gave it a significant boost. Soon after, many app developers started using subscriptions in their apps. This has led to some new, more specific trends. For example, “battle pass” features started appearing in casual mobile games. Previously, this type of subscription was mostly seen in shooters and fighting console games.
Even before the inflation, experts were predicting that subscriptions would continue to grow. But now with inflation, it’s unclear how this will affect the subscription economy. Does this mean you should not follow the subscription option as you did earlier?
No, you should adapt. Subscription is a valuable strategy and worth keeping. Mobile app subscription is a steady revenue stream. They can attract a loyal user base, boosting retention for a long time.
A Punch of Multiple Monetization Models
Have you ever tasted any mocktail punch like pineapple and blue lagoon punch? How does it taste? It contains the flavors of both pineapple and blue lagoon. The same thing happens when you mix two or multiple game monetization models. Yes, we are talking about hybrid monetization.
For example, besides subscriptions, you can add in-app purchases and in-app advertisements. An app can monetize with in-app purchases, in-app ads, and subscriptions at the same time. So, hybrid monetization stands for the different monetization models within a single mobile game app.
But, what is the point of this mixing? You can make the most out of each. The implementation of hybrid monetization allows game developers to make money out of a broad range of players. So, they do not need to depend on one particular avenue to increase game revenue.
NFT Monetization
In 2023, it is impossible to discuss game app monetization without mentioning the potential of blockchain and NFTs. The craze of partnering with the reputed blockchain development company is going around gaming studios worldwide. Love it or hate it, blockchain is impacting the game app monetization space and it will continue in 2023 and beyond.
Since blockchain gaming brings out-of-the-box monetization models like NFTs, both gamers and game developers are leaning forward to blockchain gaming. The majority of blockchain mobile games come with Non-Fungible tokens or NFTs in the form of in-game assets like character avatars, skin, weapons, Etc. Gamers can either earn or purchase them.
Unlike in traditional mobile games, players hold ownership of NFT assets. These NFT assets have an expiration date, and not even the developer can take them away. Even if the developer shut the game down, players can still hold their ownership of NFT assets. In addition, each NFT has a certain monetary value. The value goes up and down based on the uniqueness and the video game’s popularity.
But, what is there for the developer? Every time an NFT gets sold from one hand to another, the developer makes profits out of the transactions. In most cases, the cuts range from 5% to 10%.
Wrapping up
So, these are the top three mobile game app monetization models in 2023. You can think of partnering with blockchain, AI, or NFT development company to make your gameplay more interesting. However, crafting fascinating gameplay does not mean that you do not need to follow trending monetization strategies. Many app developers neglect the monetization part. Do not do the same mistake. First, research the monetization trends, and decide which monetization strategies will go hand in hand with your video game genre and audience.
